Are You Forcing Me to Kill You There?

In December, another school attack occurred.

Eloise of Gryffindor became one of the unfortunate victims.

Ever since the first two were attacked, she has been listless and unsteady on her feet, even Trelawney Luna.

William would occasionally run into this little girl and feel a pang of pity; her face was disfigured, and she also had some mental problems.

How pitiful.

In this madness, Eloise skipped Divination on Wednesday.

When they found her, she was lying outside Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.

Professor Trelawney strutted around arrogantly, claiming she had seen this scene with her Inner Eye long ago, but no one believed her!

McLaggen immediately asked anxiously, "Was it Harry Potter who did it?"

Trelawney gave him a mysterious smile, confirming his guess.

However, Cho questioned why Harry's name did not contain the letter L.

Trelawney glared at Cho and mocked her for lacking the qualities required to learn the noble art of Divination.

When the story spread, Harry was deeply moved and excitedly wiped his nose with Ron's sleeve.

Qiu fought against the school professors for him... If this isn't love, then what is?!

Okay, Cho simply doesn't like Trelawney and is just picking fights all the time; Harry is just a tool for her.

But Harry didn't think so. He vowed to clear his name and became even more convinced that Malfoy was behind it.

Because Malfoy's name contains the letter L.

Anti-Harry Alliance quickly formed at school; whenever Harry was seen, people would keep their distance and point at him.

Akali's Mystery Shop products are hot again.

At the twins' suggestion, William worked through the night to create a batch of simple alchemical weapons.

For example, the Shield Hat is enchanted with Shield Charm, so if someone casts a curse, the curse will be reflected back.

There are also various Shield Cloak and Shield Gloves, which are snapped up by students as long as they can provide some protection.

William and his group made a quick buck.

This presents a new business opportunity for Akali's Mystery Shop; they can improve the product and promote it in Diagon Alley.

After all, Shield Hat are not technologically advanced and are very easy to counterfeit.

In fact, this is just one of the twins' many little inspirations; they also have a great idea for a whole book.

In this atmosphere, one day in December, a piece of parchment was posted on the bulletin board in the Ravenclaw Common Room Entrance Hall:

The academy is going to hold Duelling Club in the Great Hall!

"Could it be our Professor Flitwick? I heard that the Dean was a fighting champion when he was young," William's roommate Bradley asked excitedly.

William shook his head. "It shouldn't be Professor Flitwick. I discussed a few spells with him yesterday, and he didn't mention this at all."

With such a grand and flashy display, I suspect it's Lockhart.

"No way?"

Hearing William say this, the students watching were somewhat disappointed; Lockhart's reputation in Ravenclaw was already terrible.

At 8 p. m., everyone arrived at the Great Hall on time.

The long dining table disappeared, and a gilded stage appeared along one wall, illuminated by hundreds of candles floating overhead.

The ceiling turned as black as velvet once again, and almost all the students in the school had come, each holding their own magic wand, their faces full of excitement.

Some students had already started wielding their wands, and after a few spells, quite a few people fell off the stage.

"If it were a knife, he'd be dead already!" Lockhart walked onto the stage and addressed the students earnestly, "That's not how you fight!"

Snape followed Lockhart, wearing black clothes that hadn't been washed in six months, a cold smile playing on his lips.

Lockhart had originally suggested that he and Professor Flitwick serve as mentors, but Snape took the initiative and offered the role.

He'd wanted to teach Lockhart a lesson for a long time, but hadn't found the opportunity!

Lockhart waved for everyone to be quiet, then shouted, "Come closer! Come closer! Can everyone see me? Can everyone hear me? Great!"

"That's right. Professor Dumbledore has permitted me to establish Duelling Club to fully train everyone in case you ever need to defend yourselves, using the methods I have used countless times—for details, please refer to my published works."

"Let me introduce my little helper, Professor Snape," Lockhart said, grinning. "He told me that he knows a little about dueling and wants to have a practical exchange with me."

Snape sneered, and without saying a word, pulled out his wand.

Lockhart bowed, making a series of fancy hand gestures as he deliberately showed off, almost dropping his wand in the process.

Such flashy moves are absolutely taboo in combat. Professor Flitwick's first lesson for William was: Hold your wand steady!

Sure enough, a dazzling red light flashed in mid-air the next second, and Lockhart was suddenly thrown backward off the stage, crashing into the wall before sliding down and curling up on the floor.

Hermione rolled her eyes and said to William, "That's it... that's it? I shouldn't have come. We could have trained in the Room of Requirement."

William crossed his arms and nodded listlessly.

"What kind of training?" Anne stared at the two of them with hostility.

"Where have you two been? You disappear every night! I've searched the campus several times, but I haven't found you!"

William patted Anne's head to calm her down, but the girl clung to her brother's arm and wouldn't let go.

William was in a period of rapid growth and was much taller than his peers, while Anne was two years younger than him and much shorter.

He gently raised his arm, and the girl was comically hanging there.

Hermione laughed out loud, which Anne found particularly grating. She glared at her and snapped, "What are you laughing at!"

Hermione made a face and retorted sharply, "I'm not telling you!"

William sighed, feeling a terrible headache.

Or should the two of them go on stage and fight?

Whoever loses has to listen to the winner.

Professor Lockhart must have hurt his back; he lay on the ground for several seconds before he steadied himself and staggered to his feet.

His hat fell off, and his wavy curls stood up straight.

"The floor is so slippery..." Lockhart offered the worst possible excuse.

"The stage is too small." This was his second excuse.

Noticing everyone's gaze, he coughed twice more.

"Alright, everyone saw that! It's a Disarming Charm. But Professor Snape, please don't take offense at what I'm saying, your intention in using this move was quite obvious."

If I wanted to stop you, it would be effortless. I think, to broaden the students' horizons, we should let them see..."

Snape, his face contorted with rage, raised his wand again. Lockhart quickly said, "That concludes the demonstration! Now I will come to you and divide you into pairs..."

"Wait!" Professor Snape interrupted. "The game is over. Dumbledore wants his students to witness a real duel, Stark... I think you wouldn't mind?"

Snape grinned maliciously, then beckoned with his hand.

William smiled too.

During the time loop, he had clashed with Professor Snape many times and knew the professor inside and out, while the professor knew nothing about him.

To paraphrase Luo Wen: "Are you forcing me to kill you there?"

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